There is no justice without planet justice. On this Earth Day, April 22, let’s pause and reflect on how the planet that sustains us is threatened by our unsustainable practices.
People of color around the world are shouldering the burden of the misuse of the planet every day, with signs of a worsening situation. In the U.S., all people will experience the harmful health and environmental impact of climate change, but not all will face that risk equally.
In its chapter on “Racism in Environment and Infrastructure,” the California Reparations Task Force Report concludes that Black people in California experience climate harms disproportionately in many ways, including:
- Black Californians are exposed to 40% more particulate matter from cars, trucks, and buses, compared to white Californians;
- Black people are 75% more likely to live near hazardous waste or refining facilities;
- Black residents of Los Angeles are almost twice as likely to die during a heat wave as other residents because of the “heat islands” attributable to a history of redlining and segregation;
- Black Californians are 52% more likely than white Californians to live in areas where more than half the ground is covered by impervious surfaces like asphalt and concrete and where more than half the population lacks tree canopy; and
- The various forms of environment and infrastructure-related discrimination suffered by Black Americans are vestiges of slavery yet to be abolished.
The Equal Justice Society is committed to climate justice for all, with an equitable emphasis on Black people and people of color disproportionately harmed by climate change.
Learn more about racism in the environment and our infrastructure in the historic California Reparations Task Force Report, and endorse the work of the Task Force: https://supportreparations.org.
Support EJS’s leadership on this and many other issues with your donation.
Thank you for your continued allyship in the movement,
LISA HOLDER
EJS President